Near Lognormal Distribution

The lognormal distribution is frequently used in hydrological studies. However, the distribution is in the form of an integral that cannot be expressed in the form of elementary functions. Thus, the lognormal distribution cannot be used for analytical purposes such as the application of the inverse transform method for generation of a sequence of lognormally distributed random numbers. In this study, a function that closely approximates the lognormal distribution is presented and its use demonstrated in hydrological studies.